HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Ok ive been into the crabs a few years. I have about 10 in there who live like kings and queens. I never get to enjoy them unless its 11pm or later. They love to hang out at night. Does anyne else get tired of having to prep good meals and water for them nightly?

I personally don't.... To me their one of the most easiest animals to feed they can eat almost anything around the kitchen and you can leave their dry foods in there for a couple days. & all the $$$$ I save since they dont eat alot

I do, personally, think of it as a hassle. But I don't get tired of feeding them, plus they have to eat! lol
I have one big food dish and one medium food dish at substrate level, then 12 additional food dishes in the upper levels. It's just a long process to open the tat, collect and clean all of the dishes, put food out, then put them back in the tank.
I do enjoy doing it though, regardless of how much of a time consuming hassle it is. And the reason I enjoy doing it is because they all seem to know when feeding time is and they all come out. It's just like seeing them in their natural environment, i love it!

mnadraus wrote:Ok ive been into the crabs a few years. I never get to enjoy them unless its 11pm or later. They love to hang out at night.

Exactly how long have you had your current crabs?
Mine do seem to have more activity during the night but they're always out and about doing something during all hours of the day. Either getting water, looking through the shell shops, hanging out on a branch, or digging through the moss pits.

I do enjoy feeding them, especially the PPs. No matter what time I put a fresh dish of food in, whoever's on the surface begin to make their way over almost immediately. Some may find this gross, but I don't change food every night. I will leave it in a day or two longer. Sometimes they seem to enjoy some things more the second night. As long as it isn't totally disgusting or moldy and of course some things need changing sooner than others.

I do have to admit I do not find enjoyment in water changes. It's a hassle but just has to be done. I'm actually thinking I want to go back to larger, cycled pools where once established you can do partial weekly water changes.

Kip, I can not even wrap my head around the number of dishes you have. I know it's necessary for the number of crabs but wow! I bet it is a hassle! My PPs are often out and about during the day too. My Es, not so much.

Sometimes if I'm tired or not feeling well it can feel like a hassle but in general I like feeding my crabs. They are generally active throughout the day, my PPs usually have a mass "stampede" to the water pools around sunset for some reason and my Es are very active all the time, so I get to observe them here and there. I can usually count on a few crabs coming out to investigate the new food when I put it in. Like Calla there are a few foods that I'll leave for an extra day or two because the crabs seem to eat them better once they've sat for a bit (spinach leaves and the turkey neck I gave them at Thanksgiving being two notable ones).

Yes I do find it a bit of a pain to have to chop up food all the time. I think I'm going to start making bigger batches and freezing it so I can just pop it out onto their dish and be done.

I'm like Callalilly. I'll leave my food out for one or two nights. In the wild, crabs will eat slightly molded food (I won't let it get that bad), and leaving it out won't hurt anyone/thing. I change my mealworm/cuttlebone dish about twice a week. The feeding can be annoying sometimes, but it only takes me about 15 minutes total, including spot cleaning. I couldn't imagine having Kip's tank and all that food

Thanks guys1 I dont feel alone now

I'll admit, when it's 3 AM, and you need to get up at 5:30 AM, and you just finished your long-overdue research paper, and you turn around to coo at your hermit crabs one last time, and you see a beautiful spread of mold all over the food dish, and you can't just leave it like that because it's not just a small amount, it's absolutely covered in the stuff, and you don't have access to the kitchen because you live with your parents and your apartment is oh so tiny and oh so not sound-proof and you need to clean the dishes somehow without making any noise whatsoever because you'll wake your mother up, and she is not a happy person when woken...

...

*desk flip*



But seeing little pieces dragged around the tank makes me smile, so it's worth it~

Hahahahahaha! I love it Luckily, I don't have that issue. I'll typically feed them right before going to bed. I have a moonlight on my tank, so I get to see them at night, too. And like I said, I'll leave the food out for a night or two occasionally, but usually not to the point of getting mold. Leaving it out moldy for a day, though, won't harm them, it just may stink. . . a LOT

I'm a two night kinda girl too. The dry food I sometimes take out during the day so it doesn't just sit in all that humidity. Fresh fruit/ produce I change every other day.

nah, I love feeding my girls &seeing what different foods they go for & what their favorites are.I have 1 Pp (violet) whose always out & about..she will hang upside dwn on a branch, or sit on top of the bark & sleep..depending on what I have out for food is my judge on whether i keep it an extra day/or change..Hermit crabs are just awesome lil creatures & enjoy all the time i get to spend with them, I love the personalities!!

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